No monitoring agency to check Godavari pollution

The International Paper Mill and APPM located in Rajahmundry discharges its treated effluents into the po-nds dug up on the river bed at Thurpu Lanka. The Pollution Control Board says that the firm has upgraded its effluent treatment plant a year ago and it posts online the analysis report of treated effluents before releasing into the river daily.

When the river witnesses heavy floods, effluents stored in the ponds get washed aw-ay in the flood water, the authorities said. Moreover, a proposal was made to take up a dedicated drainage system to carry the industrial effluent from the paper mill and sewage from the municipal corporation in Rajahmu-ndry to the Bay of Bengal at Yanam to avoid any pollution of river water.

There is no regulation on release of domestic sewage into the river at present. Th-ough the municipal corporation has a sewage treatment plant with the capacity of 30 MLD, at present, only 22 MLD is treated. Moreover, there are several vents that carry sewage from various places in the city into the river. Irrigation superintending engineer S. Sugunakar Rao said, “As the state governme-nt accorded top priority to maintaining purity of river water during the Godavari fete as devotees take holy dip, all concerned departments were alert and regulated every source of pollution. At present, officials from various departments are busy with their own work and may not be paying much attention. People themselves should realise the importance of protecting the purity of water.”

PCB environmental engineer D. Ravindra Babu said, “We collect samples of river water at periodical intervals and find no abnormal pollutants in the water.” RMC municipal commissioner P. Sakala Reddy said, “We are making efforts to regulate release of untreated domestic sewage into the river as we collect river water and treat it to send to the people for drinking purpose.”